Ubisoft developed a fart-smelling accessory for the new South Park game

As a kid growing up in the generation of cable TV, it wasn’t uncommon to imagine what it would be like if we could “smell” what was being portrayed in shows and commercials. We generically called this idea Smell-O-Vision (it wasn’t until later that I realized that was once a real thing that apparently failed miserably) but now, it would seem that Ubisoft has taken it upon itself to create a modern-day version for a new video game.

In the upcoming game South Park: The Fractured but Whole, farting is a key component. As The Verge notes, you can pass gas to fight, move around or just for the hell of it.

To help promote the game, Ubisoft has developed a headset called the Nosulus Rift that, you guessed it, blasts the wearer’s nose with the familiar scent of flatulence. Why would someone want to torture themselves in such a manner? I guess for the same reason that people buy jelly beans in disgusting flavors like rotten egg, canned dog food and booger… for the novelty of it?

How bad is it, you ask? Checking out the reactions in the clip above from GameSpot should give you a pretty good idea.

Fortunately, Ubisoft won’t be selling the Nosulus Rift on the mass market. Instead, it was developed strictly to help promote the new South Park game at trade shows and conventions so you can breathe a (fresh) sigh of relief.